Guilty pleas result in no prison time for three involved in beating death of N.Ky. man

3:02 PM, Aug 10, 2012

3:26 PM, Aug 10, 2012

Bryan Stevenson (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three men convicted in connection with the 2010 beating death of a Northern Kentucky baseball player will not face prison time.

Justin Werner, David Pryor and Donald Hays pleaded guilty to assault in the death of Bryan Stevenson, a former Scott High School student, who was beaten to death outside a Louisville restaurant on May 30, 2010, according to reports by WHAS. Stevenson was 26.

The three defendants were in court Friday where a judge sentenced the men to probation.

Stevenson's father said when the family learned that plea deal was in the offing for Werner, they were shocked. A plea deal wasn't what they expected, however he said the family was relieved that Werner was not acquitted.

Werner agreed to a plea deal in May which resulted in the dropping of a murder charge and instead agreed to plea guilty to assault under extreme emotional disturbance, trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Werner has already served two years of house arrest.

Charges against a fourth suspect were dropped.

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.